Bonaberi gridlocks: Workers dump cars for commercial bikes

With the growing traffic in Bonaberi, Douala, workers, students and business people now leave home as early as 5 am.

Workers, businessmen, students, and drivers who ply the Rond Point Deido-Bonaberi-Bekoko stretch in Douala are going through a trying period with a seemingly indefinite end in sight. Since the beginning of heavy rains in Douala, commuters plying the West Entrance into and out of the port city, have been in trouble.

They take over three hours to reach their various workplaces, which is enough time to travel from Akwa, Douala to Yaounde! April 11, 12 and 13, 2016, saw some of the worst ever gridlocks in the area, compounded by heavy rains. Majority of those who boarded taxis finally gave up and jumped onto commercial motorbikes or trekked to their destinations. Car owners envied pedestrians who walked pass their vehicles stuck in traffic since there was no turning back because both lanes were filled. Other car owners running out of patience quickly parked their vehicles in safe places and climbed onto commercial bikes for Rond Point Deido.

For the first time in the annals of commercial motorbike transport in Douala, passengers were in overwhelming numbers than riders could cope. Such passengers had no option but to accept to be overloaded just to reach their offices on time. These days, many people have resorted to leaving home as early as 5 am in order to avoid queries from their bosses.

Frida Ekema, a car owner, like many others, has decided to park her car in preference for commercial motorbikes. “I live at Ndobo from where I took over three hours on April 12, 2016, to get to Rond Point Deido. From that day, I decided to hire a bike for Rond Point daily before boarding a taxi to my job site at Akwa. Till work is completed on the Bonaberi road, I will not use my car,” Frida Ekema insisted.

The gridlocks observed in most parts of Douala are as result of the widening of the road from River Wouri Bridge to Bonaberi. Work on the project has reached its peak. Many caterpillars, some driven by women, are conspicuous on patches of the stretch, digging, filling, grading and tarring. Though workers are putting in more efforts, a portion of the population thinks that work should be carried out day and night; while others say the company should work only at night since fewer vehicles ply the road.

With the current bad traffic situation, more Traffic Policemen have been deployed on the stretch to maintain order. Meanwhile, authorities in the economic capital are leaving no stone unturned to mitigate the situation. One of the measures is the order by the Senior Divisional Officer for Wouri, Naseri Paul Bea, restricting heavy-duty vehicles from plying the road between 2 pm and 10 pm from Fridays to Sundays.